Heard the one about the referee who won the Player of the Match award?
Well it happened in Carlisle when Kingstown United Under-12s decided to make the match official their winner.
As a result the team has won a special award themselves from the Cumberland FA.
At the end of last season, the county asked all those involved in games to celebrate and raise awareness of all the good things that happen every week across the game in Cumberland, by undertaking a random act of kindness or gratitude.
Whether this was welcoming the match official to your club with a cup of tea, sharing sweets with opposition players, thanking the coaches after the game with a card, or any such similar action that demonstrates and encapsulates the true Cumbrian spirit of the game.
As a result they received a number of entries in the competition to win an FA Respect package for the winning club.
Late last season, we asked clubs to celebrate random acts of kindness and tell us by using the hashtags #LoveFootballInCumberland and #PositivityAlwaysWins. All were entered into a competition to win an FA Respect pack.
— Cumberland FA ⚽️ (@CumberlandFA) September 13, 2023
Congrats to our winners ⬇️ https://t.co/kEK2wedVDZ pic.twitter.com/uSOn9TgzlU
Teams shared their random acts with the County FA via their social media platforms using #LoveFootballInCumberland and #PositivityAlwaysWins.
Glenn from Kingstown United U12s told the county FA: “One of the parents suggested we give the Player of the Match trophy to the referee as a show of appreciation for the hard work they do!”
There were some great examples of kindness shown by teams during the competition period. For example, Abbeytown JFC and Warwick Wanderers JFC shared cakes and sweets with their opposition following their matches.
Ben Snowdon, Cumberland FA’s CEO, said: “Latest figures show that, in Cumberland, 94% of football is played within a Positive Football Environment. We want to continue to hear from teams this season on how they’re creating a positive environment for players, volunteers, match officials and spectators.”
Teams can tag @CumberlandFA throughout the season with their random acts of kindness or examples of them showing gratitude with the hashtags #LoveFootballInCumberland and #PositivityAlwaysWins to share the positive football environment examples across the county.
